Sakura's will of fire
by KiraLover4ever
Summary: The fourth war is finnally over, but there's nothing to be happy about for Sakura Haruno. Her life's not how it was before and she doesn't take it well. Getting in anbu to forget everything she has learned, she meets new persons and starts a new life. Ryou x Sakura pairing, or is it...?
1. A new team

Hello there!

I'm kinda new to this thing and the chapter label is my first mistake (oeps). There might be some mistakes in my grammar too, because my english isn't that great. I really hope you like the story.

I don't own Sakura and Kakashi or any other naruto character! I do own Haru and Ryou!

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**A new team**

Sakura was training when the sky opened up and it began to rain. With a soft curse she ran to the nearest tree and leaned against it. Running a hand through her hair she grabbed the red headband and held it in front of her. It was a bit worn from all her fights through out the years and many scratches covered the metal plate. One scratch in perticul caught her eye and she brushed a vinger over it. 'To think that 5 years have passed already.' It was true. Sakura was now 21 and not only a jonin, but since today a medical anbu as well. The fourth war was ended by Naruto and Sasuke, with both heaving to give their life to protect the shinobi world. A sad smile was plastered on her face.

"5 years without you guys, huh.."

After their death Sakura couldn't bare to go on in a normal team, so she rose her standards and took an Anbu test. After all. She was the only one left from team 7.

"Sakura."

The pinkette looked up and smiled as she recognized the person. No, she wasn't the only one left.

"Kakashi."

There was still one more. She took a step forward and gave him a hug. After their teammates death, kakashi had re-entered Anbu and helped her to get in too. The two had spent much time together and had gotten more then just student and teacher, they were best friends. Kakashi returned the hug for a second and stood then next to her, looking at the headband in her hands.

"Still thinking about them."

It wasn't a question, but Sakura nodded anyway.

"I know that it's been five years already and that i should've moved one by now, but..."

Kakashi nodded. "I understand."

Sakura tied the headband back on it's place and turned to Kakashi."Shouldn't you be getting ready for the teammeeting this afternoon?"The grey anbu smiled knowingly at her. "That's why i'm here, the meeting is going to be earlier." He raised his head and made a single sign."You have half an hour to get ready, bye Sakura." Ignoring Sakura's complains he dissapeared into a swirl of smoke.

The pinkette grabbed her hair and let out a frustrated scream. "An half hour?! That idiot, he did this on perpose! I can't be late for my first mission, aahh!" She placed her own hands into a sign and dissapeared into a swirl of leaves.

She still had 5 minutes when she entered the anbu building. Seeing that she was the first to arrive she relaxed a little and walked to a mirror. The grey anbu outfit framed her body perfectly and she smiled a little. For old times she had let her hair grow longer and it reached her hips now. She looked at the mask that hang at her belt. It was a fox. When she saw it for the first time she knew that that was the only mask for her, it reminded her of Naruto.

A crack behind her made her know that others had arrived and she turned around. Two men had entered the room and were examining her the same way as she was examening them. The first had short brown hair and light brown eyes, a small smile broke through on his face as their eyes met and Sakura looked at the other guy. This one had serious written all over his face, but there was something else too. She couldn't figure it out right away so continued with examening him. He had short black hair and surprisingly light eyes. They were almost blue with a shade of green through it. Again she noticed something in those eyes, but she couldn't place her fingers on it. A warm voice broke her out of her thoughts and she blushed a little when she realized that she had been staring at the guy.

"So your the new member huh, nice to meet you. My name's Haru." Sakura gazed at the smiling Haru and gave him a short nod. "Sakura." She didn't want to get to close to them, after all that was the only reason she'd entered anbu. Haru's smile got brider and he threw an arm around the black haired anbu.

"This broody guy here is Ryou, he's not as serious as he looks, so don't worry." Ryou shot him an angry glare and pushed him out of the way.

"Since the captain isn't here yet i might as well warn you already. We won't slow down just because you're tired, so maybe it'll be wise to just give up now and go back to wherever you came from."

Sakura was surprised already, but she didn't let it show, instead of a surprised one she gave him a warning look.

"I'd be careful of what you're saying, Ryou-san. I think you forgot who you're talking to, so let me clear your mind a bit." She took a step forward. "I'm Sakura Haruno, a full fledged jonin and now medical anbu, my mentor was none other then the fourth hokage lady Tsunade. I've been trained by her for years and are fully capable of fighting with you. Furthermore, i've fought on the front lines in the fourth ninja war after i was the head of the medical team there." She narrowed my eyes. "Now dare tell me again, Ryou-san, that i'm not good enough for your team."

Ryou's eyes flashed with surprise before it turned into anger and he turned away without saying a thing. Sakura knew she had won this for now, but she already hated the guy. Haru came to her with a big smile.

"That was amazing Sakura! I've never seen someone talk back to him like that!"

Sakura gave him a small smile but it dissapeared soon when she heared a poof. "Meet me at training ground 4." Sakura sighed and dissapeared into a swirl of leaves.

When all four teammembers stood on training ground 4 their team captain explained what they were going to do.

"Al right, Ryou, Haru, you two are going to have a spar, that way Sakura can study your movements. After that we will trade partners."

Everybody nodded and Sakura jumped into the nearest tree where she sat down on a branch. A person apeared beside her as the boys started their spar and leaned with his back against the tree.

"You look happy." Sakura frowned. "Oh shut up, Kakashi." She glared at the fighting Ryou and Kakashi looked down at her.

"Am i going to have to replace someone?"

The pinkette gave him an angry glare and returned to watch the two spar. After a while she sighed."I promise i won't injure him." "Not to much, at least.." She added after a short pause. Kakashi just chuckled and straigthened.

"Come on, it's time to change partners."

The two appeared beside Ryou and Haru, who were already waiting for them.

Kakashi smiled. "Well done, now before we continue i want to tell you the reason why the meeting was earlier then-"

the poor man never had a chance to finish the sentence. He was just in team to avoid a fist in his face. Sakura was blazing with anger as she took another step to him.

"You bastard! You almost got me late this morning!"

She almost had forgotten about Kakashi because of the thing with Ryou. Kakashi held his hands in front of him in an innocent matter and took a step back.

"Sakura, just let me..-"

"Oh no! Don't you dare Sakura me! You perverted..!-"

sakura stopped when she felt something sharp stick in her back.

"How dare you talk to the captain like that." Ryou hissed to her. Sakura rolled her eyes and gave Kakashi a look that said: 'Please let me kill him.' Kakasho shook his head and turned to the black haired anbu.

"Let her go, Ryou."

The man gave him a surprised look but put the kunai away and took a step back. Haru looked at his teammates and threw his hands in the air.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell's going on here?"

Kakashi nodded and got back to the group. "I didn't know it would matter, but since Ryou seems to be sure that Sakura has bad intensions i just tell you. You see, Sakura was my student." Sakura nodded in agreement and punched his arm. "You know that i see you more then my sensei, baka. We're friends."

Suddenly Haru dashed forward and grabbed both of her hands. "You were his student?! Tell me, how was he?" Sakura chuckeled. There goes the do not get attached plan. She already liked this guy.

"He was horrible. He was always late and when he finnally turned up he told us really bad excuses like: that there was a black cat and he had to go all around the village to avoid bad luck." She smiled. "And he was always reading porn books, even when fighting."

Haru laughed and took a step back. "That sounds not like him at all."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah, he's never been late and always so serious. Then again it may be an anbu thing." He got a bit closer. "Hey, do you know what's under that mask? I've never seen his face and always thought that he has fish lips or something like that."

Sakura stared at him in surprised and then did something she hadn't done in a long time. She laughed. Tears appeared in her eyes as she grabbed her stomach and took a step back. Kakashi eyed her with a small smile. He was happy that she laughed again, he'd missed it. Sakura wiped the tears out of her eyes and turned to Haru.

"Can you believe it if i told you that i've no idea. I mean, I've known the guy for almost ten years and i still don't know."

She thought back to the day team 7 had tried to de-mask him and a sad smile broke through.

"But you know, whatever he looks like under that, i don't really care anymore." Her hand already rose to her headband to ty it tighter when she realized that anbu didn't wear headbands, so she left it at home. She lowered her arm again.

"Why don't you tell us about the mission. I've seen them fight long enough so that i know what to expect. As for them, there's only a small chance that i'll be fighting anyway."

Kakashi nodded. "All right. There has been some rumors about a fight on the borders of the land of fire and the land of wind. The anbu stationed there haven't contacted us for a while now. Our job is to look what's going on and if nescesary, provide backup."

Haru looked up. "I've heard those rumors too, but they don't seem to add up with each other. They're all different."

Ryou put his wolf mask on. "There's only one way to know it for sure."

Haru chuckled and put on his own mask, the image of an hawk was visible. Sakura looked at Kakashi who have her a reassuring nod before he also put on his dog mask. She sighed, took a deep breath and put on her own fox mask.

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This was it for now, i try to bring out 1 chapter a week, maybe more if i have the time.

Furthermore i really want to ask you for advise or anything. ideas for the story are always welcome!


	2. A frustrating situation

So the second chapter is up and about (i hope that's a good sentence.)

It's almost night here and i'm to hyper to sleep, so yeah. Ehm, thanks for the tips and of course i hope more will come, because it makes my writing better. If you have questions about the story, don't hold back. I'm not sure i can answer them but i'll try.

This chapter is a bit short, and shorter chapters will follow, but after that i'm going to try and make them longer. Have fun reading!

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Sakura's eye shot open. Something had awoken her. She got to her feet and was a little surprised when she heared the soft thud of a blanket falling onto the ground. She smiled and made a mental note to thank Kakashi later, but for now, something had gotten her attention.

She noticed Kakashi and Haru laying on the ground, so that meant that Ryou was on lookout. Without a thought she jumped onto a tree branch and made her way to him. She realized it was a chakra signature that had woken her up, and she was going straight to it. She stopped on a branch and tried to concetrate on it, but a voice interupted her.

"You're supposed to sleep."

Sakura turned around and faced a wolf mask. "Well, you're supposed to warn us if there are others close by."

Sakura guessed he gave her a confused look with the way he tilted his head, but it was heard to tell with the mask. The pink anbu hit her head when she realized it.

"I forgot that your not a sensor type. There's a feint chakra signature right in front of us. If i had to guess, it's only one person, probably injured, or at least, almost out of chakra."

Ryou nodded, he was all bisuness now. "Friend or foe?"

Sakura closed her eyes. "I'll know in a second." A second past. Then two. Three. Sakura's eyes shot open again. "It's gone." Something was wrong, she could feel it. The chakra flow was stopped abrubtly, as if the person had been killed. But she should've felt other chakra's then.

She turned her head around with her eyes closed. 'Under, behind, sides, in front.. Above!' Her eyes snapped open again and she gave Ryou a hard push. At the same time she threw a kunai in the air. The sound of metal against metal rang in her ears. When she heard another sound it was already too late. 'Paperbombs!' A big explosion let her ears ring as she got thrown backwards. Somewhere in the distance she felt her skin burning from the heat of the blow. Her back connected with a tree and darkness invaded her mind.

Sakura groaned as she tried to open her eyes. Her whole body felt like she was thrown in the flames and then stepped on.

"Sakura!"

She managed to open one eye and was surprised to see a black haired man looking at her with worried eyes. "Ryou..?"

She shot up and let out a scream from the pain. Slowly she straigthened a bit and shufled backwards so she could lean with her back against the wall. The movements caused new waves of pain to jolt through her body, but she didn't scream out like first. Slow but steady she began to examine her wounds. 'Shit and i'm almost out of chakra.'

"Are you okay?"

Her head snapped up. "I've third digree burns all over my body and two broken ribs that hurt like hell, so no! I'm not okay!"

To be in pain while she can't do anything about it irritated her to the maximum. And the fact that Ryou seemed to be the only one around didn't help either. Even though she just woke up she was panting like she had just ran a marathon. Now that she had taken care of herself (sort of) she looked around the room. No, it wasn't a room she realized. It was a giant cave. Everwhere around her were rocks. A small beam of light from a gap in the ceiling caused the cave to not be completely dark. The pinkette noticed a small river flowing through the cave and finnaly, Ryou who was walking torwards her now.

"What happened?" He sat down in front of her.

"An ambush, we got captured and thrown in here. There are seals spreaded everywhere that absorb our chakra, not enough to kill us, but enough to leave us with empty hands. And climbing on these walls doesn't work." Sakura winced as she moved a bit.

"What about the others?" Ryou shook his head. "I don't know, i haven't seen them."

Sakura closed her eyes. "I'm sorry i snapped at you, it's a bit frustrating to not being able to heal myself. I wasn't angry at you."

Ryou shook his head. "You have every right to be angry at me, specially with how i've treated you." His eyes pierced into hers. "I want to thank you for saving my life, if you hadn't pushed me out of the way.." He stopped and shook his head as if to say never mind. At that moment Sakura began to cough hard. Ryou was immediatly at her side. When the coughs slowed down the pinkette took in a deep breath.

"Ryou, i need you to do something." He gave her a surprised look but nodded. "Look at my back and tell me if you see something."

He made her lean a bit forward and lifted her anbu armor. A gasp escaped him as he took in the sight. A large area of her back was blue and red, it almost looked like a large bruise. He described it too her and she leaned backwards again.

"What does that mean?"

His voice thrembled a bit and Sakura would've laughed if it didn't hurt so much. "An internal bleeding." She cursed. "Just what i needed, if those enemy nin don't kill me this surely will."

Ryou looked shocked at her and Sakura looked up to him. "I was just joking Ryou." She got rid of her cloves and turned her wrist in sight. "I was prepared for a situation like this." She laid two fingers on her wrist and a seal appeared.

"Chakra seal: release."

The seal lit up for a second before it faded away. Sakura closed her eyes as she felt the new energy flow through her body. All her wounds got healed and she let out an exagerated sigh.

"Much better." She began to stretch her arms and legs to get the stiffnes out, moved next to her partner and got down on her knees beside him. Without saying a thing she began to heal the bruise on his arm. He froze for a second, but began to relax when the pain began to fade away. Done, she lowered her arms on her lap and looked to the ground.

"I hope that Haru and Kakashi are safe."

Ryou turned to her. "Haru will be fine, he's stronger then you think and for Kakashi, i guess you know him better then i do."

She nodded and he gave her a sad look. "You love him, don't you." It came out of the blue and for a second she didn't know how to answer. What was Kakashi to her? And then she knew. She rose a hand to her chest and held it there as she closed her eyes.

"What i feel for Kakashi goes deeper than that. We've been through so much together. He's been there for me ever since i started as a ninja and i know that he'll still be here for me if i need him." She opened her eyes but didn't look up. "After the war, i was neither dead or alive. I felt so lost." She looked up. emerald eyes met aquamarine ones. "Kakashi brought me back from that. He was the only one that knew what i was going through. It's true, i love Kakashi. And i know that he loves me. But what we share isn't what my parent's shared. It's not that kind of love."

"I understand." He ran a hand through his hair and smiled. "Then again, i really don't."

Sakura rolled with her eyes and motioned him to turn around. He did so and soon felt her back pressed against his as she leaned against him. The pink anbu let out a frustrated sound and threw her head backwards, causing her hair to tickle in his neck.

"Life, sucks." He chuckled. "And why's that?" Sakura gazed at the sky through the gab in the ceiling and noticed that night would fall soon.

"Here i was, hoping that this was all a dream and that you were the same cold selfish bastard you were from the beginning."

"Ouch."

"But i know it isn't a dream and that you're actually a nice guy." "You say that like it's a bad thing." "It is!" He didn't say anything on this and just stared at the sky.

"I'm not supposed to like you, i'm not supposed to like Haru, i'm not supposed to like us being in a team together and i'm definitely not supposed to like this conversation with you."

"But you do."

"Yeah, and i know i'm gonna pay hell for it one day."

She shivered a bit. "Now I really miss the blanket Kakashi gave me." Ryou raised one of his eye brows. "He gave you a blanket?"

"Well.. He didn't actually gave it to me, it was just there when i woke up before all of this happened." She heared a small sigh. "You should thank him when we get out of here." Sakura nodded and turned her head to him.

"I don't suppose that you know any earth jutsu?" He shook his head. "Nope, only wind and fire. Even if i had one, i don't have enough chakra for it to work." Sakura nodded serious and suddenly came to her feet, causing Ryou to fall on his back.

"He!"

The pink anbu chuckeled and gave him a hand. "Sorry." She pulled him up and put her cloves back on. "Let's go." She said as she began to walk to the river. Ryou looked a bit dumpfounded as he walked after her. "What are we going to do?" She turned back to him.

"Escape ofcourse. This river has to come from somewhere, hasn't it?" After that the pinkette turned around and began to walk to the source of the river.

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So what do you guys think? There's a bit more action then in the previous chapter and i'm happy of how it ended. I'm not too great in describing fights, because of all the details, but i think that a fanfiction of Naruto has to have them. Further down the road there will be more action, but for now there are just some sweet scenes between Sakura and Ryou.

Please review!


	3. The discovery

Another chapter!

Yeah, ehhh, i really don't have anything to say this time. So enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, hell if i did i would've dumbed all those stupid fillers, but i do own Ryou and Haru!

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"Wow.."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement with her partner. The river was flowing faster here and came from under a giant rock. They both stood next to it and looked up.

"We can't get through that without an earth jutsu." Ryou stated simply.

The pinkette tightened her cloves and took a couple of steps backwards. "Yes we can." She began to gather all the chakra she could mis in one fist and ran torwards the rock. Neither of the anbu could ever have guessed what they saw next. As soon as Sakura's fist made contact cracks started to appear. Sakura jumped a little back to avoid the falling rocks as she coughed from all the dust. Ryou joined her and both looked with eyes full of hope to the dusty gab. Centimeter by centimeter they could see more of the thing that appeared to be a door. Ryou narrowed his eyes as he got a bit closer.

"Look at that. It's the uchiha and senju crest. But why is that on a door in a cave?"

Sakura didn't answer. She stood a bit further on the side, her emerald green eyes wide and her hand covered her mouth. The dark anbu walked to her as she stroke almost lovingly over the door. Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes, but she didn't even seem to notice it. All of her attion got sucked by the sentence on the door. A hand on her shoulder brought her back and she began to dry her eyes with her arm.

"I'm sorry, it's just. This line is something from team 7. It's what Kakashi had taught us from the very first day."

The black anbu looked a bit confused at the sentence and Sakura noticed it.

"This is only the first half." She closed her eyes. "In the ninja world, those who brake the rules are scum." She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Ryou with a half assed smile. "But those who abandon their comrades are worse then scum."

She turned her head back and stroke again lovingly across the letters. "No matter what the situation was, we've always remembered what Kakashi had taught us."

Suddenly the sentence began to lit up and Sakura pulled her fingers away with a yelp. The two could only watch how the second part of the line got engraved into the door by an invisable being. After the last word was finished the whole sentece dissapeared and a click was heard as the door opened. The pink anbu turned to her friend, totally forgetting about an escape route. "I need to know what's in there." Her eyes were begging him and he nodded. Sakura's eyes lit a bit up and she mouthed a 'thank you' before slipping in.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the room, were the enormous statues of a senju and Uchiha she didn't recognise, joined by a sun and moon.

"Ryou, you have to see this."

Steps behind her made her know that Ryou had already entered and saw the same thing she did.

"Look, there's a small corridor." He pointed out. Sakura noriced it too and made a step torwards it. Immediatly candles began to lit on the walls, pointing a path to a small room. Stopping at the end of the path she saw an enscripment.

"At first there were three, each following their own path.

But as time goes by, their paths cross and the three split into two.

One of them was guided by hate, the other by dreams.

Following the chosen paths, one meeting let to another.

And once more there were three, but now they shared one heart.

The end is near and now there's only one left.

One living soul, with the beating of three hearts."

She turned to her friend with a shocked expression. "Ryou, this story.. I think that it's about team 7."

A silence spreaded and for a second the only sound was the flickering of the candles. Until another voice broke through.

"I told you she would know it the second the read it."

Sakura's head snapped up, she knew that voice.

"Yeah, yeah, just shut up teme."

Her heart skipped a beat. She knew both voices. "It can't be..."

"Come one Sakura-chan, don't ignore us like that." Ryou pulled her behind him and took out a kunai. "Show yourself!" Two figures stepped out of the darkness and into the light. There was a sound of something like metal falling onto the ground. The black anbu stared in shock at the two persons in front of him.

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That's the end of this chapter, a clifhanger!

Again, i'm sorry that it's so short, but it was just the best point to stop.

I bet you guys already now who our two mystery figures are? Yeah, of course you do. It's a bit of twist and Sakura gets to show another side of her!

Please Review with tips or even with criticism. I make this story for you guys so i really want to give you the best.

The next chapter is already finished, so i you guys want it, just give i scream and i drop it here. :)

Thanks for reading my story!


	4. Goodbye and hello

Chapter 4! And as promised the chapter is a bit longer then the previous one.

Have fun reading!

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"Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha...? But how? You're supposed to be dead."

Naruto turned to his friend and pointed to Ryou. "Ne Sasuke, you know the guy?" Sasuke shook his head. Ryou was too shocked to react, people who're supposed to be dead stood in front of him, alive and well.

"They are not alive, Ryou. It's only their chakra."

Sakura took a step to the blonde and gave him a sad smile. "It's the same thing your father did, isn't it?" Naruto nodded and Sasuke examined her.

"You've changed." He stated.

She smiled at him with tears in the corner of her eyes. "It's been five years now. I've grown up, i'm not that useless teammate anymore."

Naruto shook his a little sorrowful. "I bet that Kakashi-sensei has rubbed off on you, you better don't read those aweful books or i'll make sure to come back for real."

Sakura chuckled lightly. "He has a little." She looked down. "Things have been tough without you guys around." She looked up again. "But everything's going great now. Both Kakashi and i have entered anbu, he has helped me actually." Her eyes shot from the blonde to the raven haired. "There's so much i want to tell you."

Sasuke shook his head. "We don't have enough time for that. You need to know something."

Naruto glared at him, sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We can't tell you much, because we've only figured out a part. But, something big is going to happen. And it's got something to do with this place."

"Maybe you've already guessed it, but this is one of Orochimaru's hideouts." Sakura's eyes widened and Sasuke continued.

"It may be us getting paranoid, but we wanted to warn you." He sighed as he lifted his arm. "It seems that my time's over."

Sakura nodded and threw herself forward to embrace him as tears ran down her face. "I promise i'll never forget you. And i want to thank you for everything. It's partly because of you i got this far. Thank you Sasuke." She felt arms tighten around her before they dissapeared and she was holding nothing but air.

With a sob she turned to Naruto. "I'm so sorry for everything i've said to you when we were younger and i'm sorry that we never got to spend time together like you wanted." Her sobs sounded muffled as she covered her face with her hands.

"I'm so sorry."

Naruto grabbed her hands and cubbed her cheek so she would look at him. "There's never been a day that i didn't love you." He leaned closer and she felt his lips brush against her. Ignoring his already fading body she closed her eyes and deepened the kiss. She felt him smiling and almost cried out when he pulled away.

"Say goodbye to Kakashi-sensei for me."

And then he was gone. No poof, no sound, not anything. For a second she stared at the spot the blonde had dissapeared from and just then she seemed to realize that they were gone, for good now. With a heartbreaking cry she fell to her knees, her hands covering her face again.

Ryou who had been looking from the sideline crouched down beside her and pulled her in his arms. He didn't say a word, he just held her and that was all she needed for the moment.

Sakura woke up with a shock. She didn't remember falling asleep. Her eyes examind the room around her and she noticed she was still in the small room with the enscriptment. Pictures of what happened flashed in front of her eyes and a blush spreaded across her face at the thought of her black haired partner.

Ryou was sleeping next to her with his back against the wall. She sat up with her arms around her knees and began to examine him. His chest was slowly rising and falling in the same pace as her breathing and somehow it comforted her. He wasn't extremely muscular, but enough for him to look strong. She trailed an old scar on his arm with her eyes, she missed the feeling of his arms around her. Her eyes widened before she shook her head to get rid of the thoughts.

'What am i thinking, i don't even like him.' She sighed and laid her head on her knees. "I can't like him."

Aquamarine eyes fluttered opened and Ryou let out a yawn.

"Sakura, you're already awake?"

She blushed and turned her head away. "Ehh yeah.." The dark anbu sat up straitght and let his eyes trail over her. "How do you feel?"

A part in her wanted to tell him of, that it wasn't such a big deal. Normally she would hold everything in until she was alone. She'd take a bath and maybe do something about her hair. Then wait until night came and cry herself to sleep. The next morning she would wake up and talk to Kakashi about it. But it wasn't a normal situation, and Ryou was the only one here. So she sighed again and laid down on her back.

"To tell you the truth, i don't know. I mean, what am i even supposed to feel. It's been five years already." She rolled on her side and closed her eyes. "I should've moved on years agoo."

"Is that what you think, or what anybody else does?"

She sat up again. "I don't know, i'm just. Confused i guess." She shook her head. "But it's not like it matters. " She got to her feet and turned with her back to him. "People see me as the apprentice of the fifth, i'm supposed to be perfect. It's what they're expecting of me." Her hands thrembled as she clenched it into fists. "There's no reason why i should be sad. I'm a proud kunoichi of the hidden leaf and apprentice of one of the sannin. I've been raised in a good family and i was always in the top of my class. I've even had the honor to enter anbu and to be in a team with Kakashi again. I've got no right to feel like this."

Ryou stood up and laid a hand on her shoulder. "And what does Sakura Haruno think about all of this?" Sakura's eyes widened before she closed them tight.

"Team 7 was the only place where i could be myself. And now it's gone."

A sob escaped her and she turned around, furiously wiping the tears away. "I'm sorry, i don't know why i tell you this, i don't even know you."

"Well, i don't really like noodles, my favorite food is barbeque, i've always loved watching the sunset from the hokage mountains, of course that only started after i moved to the leaf and.. Why are you staring at me like that?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Who are you and what the hell did you do with Ryou?"

The black anbu gave her a look full of hurt before laughing. It didn't take seconds or Sakura had joined him. They laughed until Sakura clasped a hand on her mouth and stared wide eyed at him. He stopped too.

"What?"

"That's it! You come from wind country, that's why i hadn't seen you before. It all makes sense now!"

"How do you know i'm from wind country?"

She looked up. "Because you told me you had wind based jutsu's. And there's nobody in the leaf who has a wind nature, not anymore."

Sakura yawned and ran a hand through her hair. "Maybe it's time we go back to sleep." The black anbu nodded and sat down with his back against the wall. Sakura made her way to the opposide wall and did the same. She gave him one more look before she closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.

* * *

So this was it, do you like it?

When i began writing this chapter i had no idea how to go on. I wanted Sakura to show that she had matured, so letting her collapse on her knees at the sight of her two dead teammates sounded a bit to much like the old Sakura, but then again, they are her dead teammates, so i didn't want her to come over like a total heartless robot. I can say that i'm really happy of how this turned out.

I don't really like how Sakura is in the anime, i mean, she's a high level nin en everyone looks up to her, she has to feel some turmoil about how to act, right? At least, that's what i think a normal person would feel if he/she were in same position.

The next chapter is going to be a bit different and a bit longer.

Please review!


	5. A pleasant surprise

Chapter 5!

A longer chapter and you get to know the characters a bit more, what else is left? Action! Don't worry. It's all included.

As i said, this chapter is a bit different from the others, but i can say with confidence that this is the best chapter i've written up to now.

Have fun!

* * *

A whole month has passed and there was still no sign of the enemy, nor from there comrades. They spent their time with talking to each other, training in taijutsu and sleeping. The two anbu found fish in the river and fried it above the always burning candles. They survived, but as time past by it was less likely that they would escape.

And then there was a big problem. Sakura found herself falling in love with her dark haired teammate and it annoyed the hell out of her. 'Get your ass back together Haruno. There's no time for that, we have to get out of here!' She sighed and shook her head.

"I'm going crazy."

A low chuckle reached her ears. "Aren't we all."

'That voice!' "What are you doing here?" She glared at him as he sat down beside her.

"Just relaxing." He stretched his arms and laid on his back. "What are you thinking about?"

"What makes you think that i'm thinking about something?" He chuckled again and a small blush made it's way on the pinkette's cheeks. "I know you."

Sakura snorted. "You've seen me for one month and now you think that you know me." He nodded seriously and she laid down on her side, popping her elbow up to lean on it. "So tell me, what's my favorite color?"

"That's easy, red."

Her eyes narrowed. "Favorite food?"

"Umeboshi and syrup-coated anko dumplings."

"Movie?"

"The adventures of princes fun."

"Flower?"

"Daffodils."

"Book?"

"Every medical book you can get your hands on." He said with a chuckle.

She sat up again. "Best friend?"

"Ino."

"Season?"

"Spring."

"Song?"

He sat up too and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know you listened to music."

She laid down on her back. "I don't." He shot her an 'are-you-kidding-me-look' and laid back too. "We've got too much time on our hands."

"How old are you?"

He turned his head to her. "25, why?"

"Ever had a girlfriend?"

"Where the hell does this come from?"

She looked at him. "Have you or have you not?" "Of course i have." She nodded approvingly. "Ever been kissed?" He closed his eyes and laid an arm above him.

"Gimme a break here!."

Sakura turned to him again. "Yes or no?"

"Ugh, yes."

"Are you straight?" "Poisitiv." "So you've never been attracted to a man?" "No!" "Are you sure?" "Very sure." "Single?" A heavy sigh was heard. "Yes, why the sudden intrest in my private life?" She shrugged. "Hm, nothing." He sweat dropped.

"Where was your first kiss?" "You're not going to stop, are you?" "Nope." "It was in a closet."

Sakura shot up. "You're first kiss was in a closet?!" He shot up too. "You say it like i've forced the girl or something." Her eyes narrowed.

"Did you?" "Of course not!"

They stared at each other and laid back down. A couple of seconds there was a silence and then Sakura sat up again. "I can't believe that your first kiss was in a closet."

"Are you really still going on about that?" "But it's the first kiss Ryou! It's supposed to be romantic!" "As if yours was romantic." Sakura blushed and turned her head away. "T-that was a whole other situation." Ryou sat up and raised his eyebrow. "Howcome?"

"Because it was." She ran a hand through her hair. "It was only a couple of months after their death and i was drunk and, i don't know."

"Don't tell me that your first kiss was with a complete stranger." She blushed again. "No, it was with... Kakashi." A big silence fell and Sakura could swear that she heard a cricket from somewhere.

Then Ryou jumped up and stared down at her with shock. "You've kissed Kakashi?!" Sakura felt the heat rise as her blush worsened and she got to her feet.

"S-so what if i kissed him, it's not like we have a thing or something.." She turned away. "Too much alcohol, the loneliness and the never ending nightmares had driven me to Kakashi. I'm not proud of what i did, but i don't regret it either. The talk with him after that really helped me and it made me to who i am today, so go ahead, laugh if you want."

Two strong hands grabbed her shoulders from behind and she tensed up. "I'm not going to laugh at you, Sakura. I know that you're strong, i've seen it. And i'm defenitely not going to judge you on what you've done in the past."

He took his hands off her and began to walk to the candle lit corridor. "Let's go to sleep. We have a lot to talk about tomorrow." Sakura eased a bit and gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?" He gave her one of his bridest smile as he sat on the ground.

"You've kissed the Kakashi Hatake and you think you can get away with some lousy story? Oh no, I'm just dieing to hear every detail of it."

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Sakura's eyes shot open as the sound of an explosion reached her ears. She jumped to her feet and saw that Ryou was already standing at the door, a kunai readied in his hand. He noticed she was awake and began to sign with his hands.

'How many?'

The pinkette closed her eyes only to snap them open again. A sad smile was plastered on her face as she began to sign back.

'I'm sorry.'

Ryou's eyes widened for a second before they hardened again, but Sakura had already seen the unspoken questions, after all, she felt the same. Was this really how it would end? After a month in their prison were they really going to die in said place? It seemed so unfair.

A little voice in the back of her mind screamed to not give up, to fight for her life, but she knew. In the codition they were in, tired and with almost no chakra, they wouldn't stand a chance against so many fully rested ninja. She wasn't worried about her life, she was a medic, they wouldn't dare to kill here. Medics on her level were a rarity, on top of that, she was a woman.

She glanced at her black partner. It was him she was worried about. Ryou had no use for their attackers, he would only be a threat to them and threats needed to be dealed with. The dark anbu noticed her worried gaze at him and gave her a reassuring smile. As an anbu, he knew what would happen to him if he was captured. Most likely he would be tortured to get information out of him, or out of Sakura, but if he was lucky, maybe they would kill him without too much pain.

Tears jumped in Sakura her eyes as Ryou smiled at her. Even though he was probably going to die and he knew that she knew it, he still didn't want her to worry about him. But that was just the thing, Sakura was not only worried. She was terrefied and not only for him, but for herself too. Too many people around her had died already, she didn't think that she could manage if he died too. In the month they had stayed here he had become her rock, just like Kakashi had been at home and then a little bit more.

Another explosion sound and this time she could feel the ground under her shake from the blow. It would only be a matter of seconds before the door collapsed and they would be captured. Her mind was running like crazy, overthinking every possibility of escaping. A dent appeared in the door and brought her out her thoughts. She shook her head angrily and walked to Ryou.

'How can i even think about given up while Ryou stands her with clear resolve.'

She began to gather the little chakra she still had left in her right fist as she took a stand beside her friend. 'This is everything i've left, i'm going to have one chance and i'm going to make it count.'

Her eyes hardened the same way Ryou's had as a second dent appeared. She could feel the intense heat of the explosions even from where she stood. The ground thrembling beneath her feet. She heared the awful sound of her fast beating hart as the door began to give away. She felt her panic rising with every second, every time the door opened a bit more.

Could she handle seeing him get tortured? Could she lose another loved one without him knowing how she felt? A hand that appeared in the doorway made her mind up.

"Ryou, i need to tell you something."

The gap in the door was almost enough to let a person through. He turned to her and aquamarine eyes met emerald ones. "Ryou.. I.. L-"

strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. The pinkette blinked a couple of times in surprise and saw Ryou do the same. Wait, who the hell was hugging her?! She was ready to pounce her fist into his body when he spoke.

"I thought i'd lost you."

Immediatly she let her arms drop, she knew that voice all to well and just like every other time, it was able to brake her walls. With a sob she buried her head into his shoulder, thereby completely missing a pair of eyes that turned away.

After a couple of minutes the two let go of each other and Sakura looked up. "How? We didn't sense you at all and-" We.. In all the ruckus she had forgotten about Ryou, she turned to him but saw that he was already talking with someone else. It was Haru. Kakashi followed her eye as arms wrapped around her from behind.

Sakura was surprised, again, but that changed quickly into being irritated.

"Genma, i swear if that's you, i'm going to punch the hell out of you!"

A chuckle was heard as the arms dissapeared and she turned around. "Can't i even give the love of my life a hug when i'm glad to see her?"

He winked at her and was ready to jump away if needed, but instead that she punched him like she had threatened, she threw her arms around his shoulder and pulled him closer.

"You're horrible, but i'm glad to see you too."

She pulled a bit away and swing her finger in front of him. "But seriously, do that again and i'll make sure you regret it." A hand on her back pushed her closer again. "Sure thing, sweetheart."

A laugh escaped her as she embraced him one more time and then pulled away completely, only to be captured again. But this time by a man with lightbrown eyes.

"Haru."

Again the arms dissapeared and she looked up. "I'm happy to see you." She turned to Kakashi and Haru. "I was really worried about you, guys." Haru's eyes widened.

"_You_ were worried about _us_?! Hell you have know idea how worried we were about _you_!" He looked at the candles and half eaten fish on the ground. "And here you are, heaving dinner with candles in a freaking cave!"

Sakura laughed, but stopped abrubtly. A cave, team 7's cave. With a small smile she turned to her team captain. "You can tell us everything later, but for now i have to show you something."

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him torwards the enscripment. Sakura could dream the text, she had read it so often that she knew it out of her head. When she guessed that he was done she turned to him.

"I've seen them, kakashi. They were here."

His one visibal eye widened only the slightest bit as she told him everything their deceased teammates had told her and what had happened, wel.. most of it. Some things she liked to keep to herself.

"Maybe not everything that has happened was a bad thing." Said Kakashi. "You seem more relaxed and happy."

Sakura nodded."It's because i was able to say goodbye."

Kakashi's eye shined knowingly. "I'm sure that a certain black haired teammate has been a great help too." Normally Sakura would've punched him all the way to the land of snow for a comment like that. But like Sasuke had said, she had changed, so she smiled lovingly and gave Ryou a short glance.

"He was great."

* * *

Best chapter ever!

Even though i've written it myself it causes shivers to run down my spine everytime i read it. The interactions between Sakura and Ryou are just what i hoped they would be. I'm very happy off how this turned out.

**I still have so many ideas for the story, but i do need some help with the next chapter, so here are a few choices, please let me now which one you want it to be.**

1. Ryou confesses to her and they kiss. (This is a kind of sudden chapter, because Sakura still has some strugles, and we all now that struggles aren't always easy to sort out. But she just ignores everything and throws herself on him.)

2. Everything is like it was before, except that Ryou is now really nice. Sakura is still confused about him and is avoiding him a bit. (This is a slow chapter. Sakura gives herself time to sort everything out and evantually she will make a descision.)

3. Sakura is convinced that a relation with Ryou will only cause to get her hurt again, so she throws herself on Kakashi, hoping that he is the one and only for her. Thereby she hurts both Kakashi and Ryou with her feelings. (I don't know it with this one. It'll be kinda weird, but at the same time it sounds that Sakura may be able to do it.)

4. Conviced that she's a danger for Ryou if they are together (because she had loved both Sasuke and Naruto and they both died.) she's going to be cold to him. She drowns herself into work and missions to forget about him, until it goes wrong.

These are the choices. If you have a better idea, review and tell me! I'm open for suggestions.


	6. Memories and Hurdles

"Ohh, this feels great."

Sakura said as she felt her strength returning. It was late in the evening and the last sunrays were welcome after the darkness of the cave. After she had stretched her sour muscles she stared at her captain.

"Hé kakashi, I'm really happy that you found us and all of that..." She laid one hand on her hip and made a vaque gesture to her surroundings. "But did you really have to take more then half of anbu with you?"

Eyes turned to them and kakashi ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't."

Sakura gave him a confused look and sweatdropped when she realized who had sent them. "Lady tsunade has sent them, hasn't she?"

She shook her head dissaprovingly and turned around. "I don't even want to know." She began to walk to the nearest tree and gave it a questioning look. The tree was easily 14 meter high and 3 meter thick.

"Oh well."

She shrugged and threw her fist forward. More then half of the anbu jumped in the air at the sudden cracking sound. Nobody except two had seen her move at all. With a irritated look on her face Sakura turned around and walked back to her friends as the three fell down with a sickening crunch, making a small crater where it'd hit the ground.

"I see that you have lost your touch a little." Said Kakashi with his eye cringed into a smile. Sakura gave him an angry glare. "Shut it Hatake. My chakra control might suck right now, but-"

"You're right, it really sucks."

Sakura's eye twitched and Kakashi shook his head. "You know Genma, if you still want to be alive at the end of this day, you better start running now."

Genma gave him an 'what do you mean' look but gulped when killer intent reached him. Holding his hands in front of his face in an innocent gesture he began to back away as the pinkette took a step torwards him.

"Now Sakura, you know I love you, right? I mean, you love me, don't you?" He almost fell as he stumbled and looked up as Sakura came closer and closer. "Come on now Sakura. You surely don't want to kill your future husband, do you?" The sound of footsteps stopped...

And then continued. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that!"

The sound of footsteps stopped again and instead they heard the sound of laughter. Genma looked confused up and sweat dropped when he saw a laughing Sakura. It took only a second for the others to join her.

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Minutes passed and all but one were still laughing. Sakura had withdrawn herself from the laughing shinobi and was overhearing them from a distance. She was happy to see them, to see that not everything had changed. They could still laugh, make jokes and be, if only for a couple of seconds, at peace. But at the same time it made her see so much better that things had changed and that nothing would ever be the same again. It was as if, even though she was running with all her might, she still didn't go forward. It was true what Kakashi said. She did feel a little lighter now that she finally had accepted the deaths of her teammates, but she couldn't stop thinking that, somewhere on the way to acceptance, she had lost something. A piece of herself. A sigh escaped her and she looked up to the sky. Something... There was something missing. A way to live? An escape? "How am I going to find something when I don't even know what to search for?"

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It was around midnight when Sakura gave up on trying to get to sleep. The whole group had explained to her what had happened. It seemed that the rumors about a fight between Sand and Leaf weren't true and that it was just a trap to capture them. Why and by who, nobody knows. There was no enemy to be seen when they had found the cave and the explosions were only to open the door. There were so many unanswered questions and then there still was the thing with Ryou.

They hadn't spoken all day and she wasn't sure if she still loved him. She closed her eyes with a sigh. No, that was a lie. She knew she loved him, but she also knew that loving him would end up with her getting hurt.

'That's it. I'm not going to get attached to him. I just have to avoid him for now. Easy, right?'

Letting out a frustrated groan she got to her feet and began to walk to the campfire. To her suprise kakashi and Ryou were sitting there, staring into the flames. They both looked up when they felt her presence and kakashi examined her.

"Can't sleep huh."

Sakura just nodded and did what she always had done when she felt this way. She sat down next to Kakashi and rested her head on his shoulder, it always comforted her.

"The're just so many questions. And then there's this feeling that tells me that I'm not going to like the answers to them. This whole situation feels wrong and I can't help but think that something awful is going to happen. It drives me crazy."

"You're thinking way to much about this." Sakura flinched when she heard that voice, but she managed to cover it by leaning more into Kakashi who raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner.

Shaking her head slowly she glanced to where Ryou sat. Could she really do it? Could she shot him out? She only knew him for a moth, but she loved him so much. 'He was there when i needed him most. Even though he didn't know me.' For like the one hundredst time she wished it never had happened. With a sigh she looked up at the stars.

"I'm such a kid." Two pair of eyes turned to her. "I've always wished for the stupidest things. I always wanted more." She closed her eyes. "It sucks you now. When everything's going fine then, it all crashes again? And the worst part is, I really don't want to try and put it back together again, because I know it'll just happen again and again." She opened her eyes again and glanced into the flames. "But i have too, it's my job."

"No."

She sat up and was eye to eye with the guy she was trying so hard to ignore. "You don't give up, because you know, that in the end, it will all be worth it, not because it's your job. You're brave and have the courage to do things that others are afraid of and at the same time you manage to be kind and think about someone else before yourself. That's why people love you."

Sakura's eyes widened from his words and a memory of a long time ago made it's way into her mind.

xxxx

She was crying, but not ever in her life had she cried like she did now. All her senses were numb, her mind was like mush. It felt as if her world caved in, but somehow, somewhere in the distance she could feel a loving warmth. Her eyes opened wide as she realized that someone was hugging her. It was Naruto.

"Don't give up, okay? I know that you've been hurt and i know how it feels, believe me, i do. But the feeling will pass, the tears will stop falling and your heart will heal itself. I promise you it will, so hold on and don't let go. Don't lose hope. I promise you'll find someone who will treat you the right way, the way he never did. Someone who wil never ever leave you the way he did. He'll be worth the wait, so hang in there, because i love you and i want you to be happy."

And just like that she stopped crying. He was right, she knew he was right.

xxxxx

It was a memory from right before Naruto had left to go on a long training trip with one of the great sannin. She had gotten mad because Naruto was leaving her just like Sasuke had. She had screamed awful things about both of them until her voice was hoarse, then she had collapsed and had been crying her eyes out.

Naruto had held her, he had comforted her. After that day she believed that he was the person worth waiting for and she fell in love with him. But then there was the war and he and Sasuke both died. Her eyes softened.

Could it really be that she was given a second chance? Could it really be that Ryou would never leave her? Then again, Naruto had told her he would never leave her. And here she was. She gritted her teeth and got to her feet, suddenly feeling angry.

Pounding her fist into the nearest tree she glared at him, totally ignoring the soft cry of pain. "I really hate guys like you! Talking like you've figured me all out like some tool to use. Well guess what, you don't know me! So cut the crap already and leave me alone!"

Both Kakashi and Ryou stared at her, the shock visible on their faces. Honestly, she was shocked herself. Never in her life had Sakura lost her patience like that. Wide eyed she looked at her teammates and only then she saw the gash on Ryou's arm. It wasn't very deep, but that didn't stop the crimson red liquid from flowing out. Recalling what happened she realized that a splinter of the tree must have cut him and that meant... It was her fault. Her eyes widened further and Ryou followed her gaze to his arm.

Quickly he covered the gash with his hand and smiled at her. "Don't worry about it."

But she did. She'd harmed a comrade, a friend and only because of her stupid feelings. A new voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I hate to disrupt the party, but it's in the middle of the night and... Is that blood..?"

Sakura turned around and stood eye in eye with Genma. "Sakura? Are you crying? What happened?"

He took a step torwards her and she stumbled back. "I.. I didn't mean to.." The pinkette took another step back and found herself walking right into Kakashi, who had jumped to his feet the moment she had turned away.

"Calm down, Sakura."

His one visible eye pierced into hers and her panic rose. She didn't know why she got so worked up but for some reason her longs seemed to be on fire as she gasped for air. Sweat broke her and she heard a squicking sound everytime she breathed in. Wait, did that sound come out of her own mouth? The four friends were now completely surrounded by other anbu who were curious to see what was going on.

All those eyes focused on her made her panic even more and the diziness hit her like a brick. Kakashi noticed her swaying on her feet and cursed as he realized what was going on. Reaching forward he was just in time to catch her before she hit the ground. In the distance Sakura heard several voices scream out her name. Her sight was really blurry and she felt ice cold. With a shiver she closed her eyes and let the numbness take over her body.

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Hours past by as Sakura continued to drift in and out of consciousness. Sometimes she caught pieces of conversations, but the voices were always subdued and by the time they ended she had already succumbed to sleep again.

"-can't just do that!"

"-stay here then."

"-back to the village."

Most of the time she couldn't even tell if the voices were real, or just a part of the dreams she had. She knew that the dreams weren't real, because both Naruto and Sasuke were always in there, always giving her the fault of their deaths. But when she finally began to wake up, she wished she could have the dreams back, just so she could see them again.

Sakura groaned as she sat up. She felt sick and not only physically. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times while trying to see where she was. It was still the same camp, but she couldn't detect anyone. She was about to stand up when a new wave of diziness hit her, groaning hard she fell back and closed her eyes again.

"Sakura? Are you awake?"

She groaned as an answer and heard footsteps stopping beside her. "How do you feel?" A hand was placed on her forehead and she flinched at the cold skin against hers. She was to far gone to answer the question and just laid still. The hand on her forehead had moved and was now stroking her hair.

"Just go to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up again."

Even after the girl had fallen asleep, he kept stroking her hair. "You should follow your own advice." The anbu just nodded.

"Ryou, i'm serious. You haven't slept for two days, go and sleep. I'll watch over her. "

Ryou pulled his hand away from the sleeping anbu and ran it through his own hair. "No captain, it's okay, i'm not really tired."

Kakashi gave him a sad look and sighed. "This isn't your fault, you know."

This time it was the blank haired anbu who sighed. "I knew how she felt.. I just.. didn't think that she'd react like this."

"Sakura is strong and because she's strong, she wants to shoulder everything herself, it was only a matter of time before something like this would've happened." A silence fell and Kakashi grinned behind his mask as he heard the soft breathing of his already sleeping subordinate.

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The second time Sakura woke up, she felt a lot better, even though the mature headache was still present. The pinkette sat up and let her eyes stroll around the camp, until they stopped on a brown haired man. For a second she stared at him, not really noticing that his light brown were eyes staring back at her.

"You like what you see?"

The voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she glared at him. "I have no idea what your talking about."

The man's eyes shined before they softened again, he walked to her and sat down on the ground. "I'm glad you're awake." He rubbed his neck awkwardly and glanced at her. "You kind of gave us a heartattack when you collapsed."

Sakura smiled sad and laid a hand on the brunettes arm, who gave her a surprised look. "I'm sorry Haru, i've made you worry again, haven't I?"

Haru smiled shyly and stared then at something behind her. "I was nothing compared to Ryou. He hasn't left your side even for a second."

The pinkette followed the brunettes gaze and her eyes widened at the sight. Her black haired teammate was sitting with his back against the three next to her, his eyes were closed and the lids fluttered occasionally. She stared dreamily at him. Even in his sleep, the man was attractive. Again the 'what if' questions appeared in her mind, but she pushed them back and turned to Haru.

"What happened after I.." She paused, not really sure what to call it. A melodramatic sleep in, maybe? But Haru knew what she meant and moved to a more comfortable position.

"I don't really know what happened right after that, because I was on lookout, but when I came back..." He paused and shook his head in dissaproval. "Let's just say that Genma now has a hard time using his arm, or moving it all for that matter."

Sakura gave him a confused look and Haru shrugged. "He got what he deserved for trying to harrass you in your condition." The pinkettes mouth fell open.

"He tried what?!"

The brunette nodded. "But don't worry, he didn't do anything. He didn't get the chance." A snicker made it's way of the brunettes mouth.

"I'm happy you're enjoying it, Haru. But you do understand what will happen when we get back to the village, right?"

Haru gulped and turned his head. "C-captain."

Kakashi ignored him and walked strait to Sakura. Crouching down beside her he pulled one of his gloves off and laid the now bare hand on the pinkettes forehead. "Hm, your fever is gone, that's a good sign." He was ready to pull his hand away again when a smaller one covered his.

"Please, just.. Stay for a moment."

His eye widened a bit at the strange request, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he sat down beside her and watched patiently as she closed her eyes and held her hand firm on his.

Sakura took a couple of deep breaths. She needed to know that she wasn't going crazy, that the bond they had was still the same, but it was futile. She had lost herself and even though Kakashi was with her, it felt like she was all alone. She opened her eyes again and pulled their hands from her forehead, only to rest them in her lap.

"How many days have i been out?"

Kakashi blinked a couple of times at the sudden question. "Ehh, three." Somehow she seemed different, more distant.

"Where are the others?"

"They couldn't stay any longer."

"Sounds logical."

Kakashi's hand tightened around hers and she looked up. "Are you going to tell us what happened for you to act like you did?"

He saw panic flash in her eyes before she looked away. "You already know everything that has happened." "Don't lie to me, Sakura." "I'm not lying." "Yes you are."

Her eyes lit up with anger as she pulled her hand out of his. "What do you want me to say, Kakashi? That I'm sorry for overreacting like that? And don't you dare give me that look, because I know that that's what you've been thinking."

Haru shifted awkwardly as Kakashi and Sakura glared at each other.

"No." He stated evantually. "I want you to tell me the truth." "What truth?!" "You know what I'm talking about." "No, I don't! If I did, I wouldn't be asking!"

Haru slowly began to back away as their voices got louder and louder. "You're not acting normal, Sakura!" "Since when am I normal?!"

Kakashi shook his head. "I don't want to see you like this." Sakura's fist clenched and she looked angrily at the ground.

"Then don't look."

The pinkettes voice was almost a whisper, but Kakashi had heared it loud and clear. His eye blinked in surprise and a flash of pain ran across the visible parts of his face.

"What?"

Sakura saw the disbelief in his eyes, the pain, the betrayal. Right at that moment she wanted nothing more then take him in her arms and never let go. She'd do anything to relieve him from those feelings. Her heart screamed, that was how much she longed for him, but in her mind, she knew, that if she did it, nothing would change. She'd still be lost and her heart would still ache. No, she needed to be strong. She needed to bury those feelings deep in her heart and move on.

The pinkette got to her feet and began to walk in the direction of the village. "I'll go on ahead and report to lady Tsunade." She glanced at the sleeping anbu. "Don't bother waking him up, he needs his rest." With that she gathered chakra into her feet and dissapeared into the trees, leaving a shocked Kakashi behind.


End file.
